Planetary Classification in the Omfalos Galaxy
The Omfalos Galaxy teems with worlds. The majority are gas giants, worlds of frozen methane, huge, globular masses of hydrogen that failed to become stars, and many other variations. Some of these are mined or exploited in some way and may even harbor their own forms of truly bizarre alien life, but it is mostly upon small, rocky, terrestrial worlds that the majority of the sentient alien races are found. Within this category of world, however, are many variations and these races endure all manner of different environments in their quest to survive in a cruel and unwelcoming universe. The galaxy is home to billions of inhabited planets scattered across over 110,000 light years of space. Through long ages countless worlds have been colonized by many civilizations of the galaxy; Some species have never reached other stars and died stillborn on their birth worlds, while others rose to dominate vast swathes of the galaxy before collapsing back into dissolution and anarchy, but all of them have left traces of their presence on their worlds. Each one of the major races that currently inhabit the galaxy control hundreds of planets and they decide to develop them according to the resources on it, the general meteorological and geological conditions, the dangers and the infrastructure that these empires need at the moment or for the future. After its foundation of High City’s League of Empires, the Galactic Council of High City has devised a universal classification system for planets, currently used by all the member empires of the League, mainly for the purpose of helping the several member empires to collect the tributes of raw materials, manufactured products and army soldiers from their own planets. All the types of planets present in this classification are listed below. Types of Planets Tribal World Tribal Worlds are defined as planets whose population are composed of nomadic hunter-gatherers or members of early agricultural societies and who possess technology equivalent to Earth's Stone Age, Bronze Age or early Iron Age cultures. Tribal Worlds are populated by backward tribal peoples largely living without the assistance of maintained technology or even agriculture in some cases and the population is usually quite low as a result. The population could be made up of members of a young race that are still in their early stages of cultural and technological advancement or even be the members of one of the many spacefaring races that inhabit the galaxy and that for some reason (such as a failed colonization project, ingrained religious preferences, cultural choice or harshness of the environment) have regressed to a tribal state. Tribal World populations may be aware of the other spacefaring races' existence in some fashion but are unlikely to know much more than something about a large group of distant people living among the stars. These planets are frequently unsuitable for later colonization, either due to the circumstances which drove the natives feral or because the natives themselves actively resist new people settling on their lands. Removing a Tribal Worlder from his planet and exposing him to such things as interstellar travel can be disconcerting and even result in madness and other permanent psychological disorders. Pre-spaceflight World A Pre-spaceflight World is a planet inhabited by an alien population who possesses technology equivalent to that of Earth's 2nd or early 3rd Millennium cultures, still unable to make interplanetary or interstellar travels. These worlds are self-sufficient in terms of food-supply and have varying manufacturing, technological and industrial capabilities. Pre-spaceflight Worlds are split into geographical areas with widely varying levels of technological advancement and culture. Depending on the prevailing governments, these might be countries, states, power blocks or tribal homelands. Other planets in this class might exhibit great variations in culture due to environment, with areas weak in natural resources being similarly weak in terms of military power, economic muscle and so on. A great many worlds in our universe fit into this broad category, but no two are alike in the way they realize these developmental divides. Civilized Word A Civilized World, also called a Developing World, is a colonial planet of one of the many intergalactic empires of our universe whose development has been allowed to progress over the millennia "naturally", without any specific purpose to fulfill. These worlds are generally self-sufficient in terms of food-supply and have varying manufacturing, technological and industrial capabilities. Civilized Worlds are split into geographical areas with widely varying levels of technological advancement and culture. Depending on the prevailing governments, these might be countries, states, power blocks or tribal homelands. It may be the case that higher levels of technology and wealth are concentrated around the original colonization sites. Other planets in this class might exhibit great variations in culture due to environment, with areas weak in natural resources being similarly weak in terms of military power, economic muscle and so on. Some planets preserve a great divide due to ancient tribal taboos, religious notions or plain old-fashioned habit. A great many worlds of our universe fit into this broad category, but no two are alike in the way they realize these developmental divides. They may have large, sprawling urban areas but none have yet reached the level of population density to make consider the planet a City World. Factory World A Factory World is a type of planet, or in some cases a moon, whose surface is almost entirely or entirely covered of factories and that is completely dedicated to the manufacture of the various machines and devices of the civilization that owns it. The Factory Worlds are for their empires the primary source of all kinds of hardware: from farming equipment to war machines such as starships, tanks, aerospace fighters, or even gigantic battle robots. Much of a Factory World is like an immense factory, with industrial complexes soaring into the sky and mine workings burrowing deep into the planetary crust. Factory Worlds build great numbers of complex technologies, like tanks or spacecraft parts for the army. Usually the ecosystem of this kind of world has been completely destroyed. The air is saturated with toxic gases and rivers flow with toxic runoff from the multitude of factories. In many cases, even seas and oceans have been purposefully evaporated to make room for more factories. However, the sheer amount of industrial output greatly benefits their empire as a whole. The factory Worlds are usually tied to a series of pacts with other worlds and institutions of their empire that oblige the various Factory Worlds to supply the other planets and their various populations and military arms with the products of their factories. Agri-World Many planets in the starfaring empires, such as City Worlds and Factory Worlds, are completely incapable of sustaining the sheer number of people who live and work on them. To feed these people, as well as their vast armies, many planets have been completely transformed into giant farms known as Agri-Worlds. Most of these planets have populations of less than 100 million people and possess only a few major cities. These farming planets, in their own way, are as vital to these empires as their Factory Worlds. These planets are given over entirely to the production of food, which City Worlds cannot produce in sufficient quantities to keep their huge populations from starving. Many worlds have whole continents given over to livestock or fields of edible plants. Some Agri-Worlds are covered in oceans teeming with aquatic life and a few are far stranger -- worlds covered in edible fungus, scoured by swarms of nutritious insects or are gas giants whose upper atmospheric layers are home to flocks of edible or egg-producing flying creatures. A few planets are used solely to provide clean, potable water to nearby City Worlds. City World A City World (also known as "Ecumenopolis) is a type of planet, or in some cases a moon, whose entire surface is covered with a single worldwide city. Usually the most populous worlds that are part of an interstellar empire are their City Worlds, each one housing more than a hundred of billions of individuals. City Worlds often provide to an empire the majority of their industrial labor, thanks to their factories producing mountains of war materiel and other goods to meet the demands of their empires. Most City Worlds started out as relatively hospitable places to live but have become severely polluted, with some urban areas reduced to uninhabited ruins or radioactive ghost town by the never-ceasing industry of the City World itself. Equally dangerous can be the city itself. The crime-ridden, poverty-stricken areas, almost always found in the most polluted and decrepit lower levels of the city, are home to violent gangs, criminals and assorted scum as well as mutants and hideous monsters who hide there from the authorities. Perhaps even more valuable is what at first glance seems to be a byproduct of the gigantic City World's design. The population of any given world approximately doubles every 100 years. With each City World housing between 80 to 2000 billion people, the sheer number of citizens on a City World is staggering. And each of those citizens is a potential soldier for the army of the empire that owns that planet. City Worlds are vast factories for the most useful possible resource, people. Almost every recruit native of a City World will almost certainly already know how to handle a weapon. City Worlds also serve to populate newly discovered planets. City Worlders may be gathered from various City Worlds (willingly or unwillingly) by their empires and shipped off to distant colonies first discovered by the exploratory fleets. Paradise Worlds Paradise Worlds, sometimes also known as Garden Worlds, are planets of outstanding natural beauty usually used as playgrounds for the higher classes of one of the many interstellar civilizations that inhabit our universe. The population of such worlds are dedicated to pampering the important visitors they often receive, such as members of major noble houses, members of the Navy, Planetary Governors, important religious leaders, military commanders, and wealthy traders. Paradise Worlds are often very cultured places, and many have huge proportions of their populace dedicated solely to producing works of art, music or other forms of entertainment. Casino complexes, opulent restaurants and huge ballrooms are often found on such worlds. Some Paradise Worlds contain large developing cities and other major settlements. Fortress World Fortress Worlds are planets within the starfaring empires that serve as bastions of the empire's defense against some constant and persistent threat to their space. These worlds are extremely well-defended, usually with large numbers of soldiers and warships, and their populations and economies are wholly geared towards meeting the demands of the empire's defense. The most famous Fortress Worlds in the Omfalos Galaxy are the planets that are part of the "Border", which defends the galaxy and the Artakan Empire from the constant assaults of the Shakran Dominate. Mining World Mining Worlds are rich in one or more of the raw strategic materials required by the starfaring empires' factories and Factory Worlds. The people of Mining Worlds are likely to be slaves or penal workers who live out their lives mining and transporting massive quantities of metallic ore, rock, minerals, frozen gases or some other useful, strategic or precious substance. Mining Worlds tend to be rather inhospitable places, and many do not even possess a breathable atmosphere, though a few may support a greater variety of life and developed cities. Frontier World Frontier Worlds are planets placed at the boundaries of the territorial space of their interstellar civilization and that are home to a relatively small number of colonists. The exploratory fleets that have discovered the planet may not have even had sufficient time to fully explore the world and set up a proper planetary government. Frontier Worlds can serve as a refuge for those who want to escape from the repressive regimes of their empire, though they can also be a destination for those who want to escape its justice, and have a reputation for lawlessness and crime as a result. Many cities on these planets are crime-ridden, poverty-stricken areas that are home to violent gangs, criminals and assorted scum as well as mutants and hideous creatures who hide there from the authorities Shanty World Shanty Worlds are planets used as makeshift shelter for aliens forced to leave their homeworlds, such as refugees fleeing war, persecution, oppressive regimes or natural disasters or criminals who want to escape from justice. The diverse populations of these planets are rarely composed entirely of individuals of the same species, forcing many aliens with very different traditions, cultures and languages to live side by side in an unlikely and very difficult coexistence inside gigantic slums. Armed clashes are part of everyday reality on these worlds and the reasons may be the most diverse and absurd. The cities of these worlds are mainly informal or spontaneous settlements that often lack proper sanitation, safe water supply, electricity, hygienic streets, or other basic necessities, but in some cases the inhabitants may get lucky and find shelter inside some abandoned ruins dating back to a previous attempt of colonization by another civilization that still possess some useful resources. These planets have a reputation for lawlessness and crime. Many settlements on theses planets are crime-ridden, poverty-stricken areas that are home to violent gangs, criminals and assorted scum as well as mutants and hideous creatures who hide there from the authorities. Usually these planets are apolitical, but in some cases they are partially or completely controlled by a criminal organization or an informal government composed of representatives of the population. Waiting World The Waiting Worlds are planets located near the boundary of the territorial space of the interstellar empires composed of a multi-species community, such as the Ashen Dominion and the Gamanite Union. The inhabitants of these planets are mainly refugees fleeing war, persecution, oppressive regimes or natural disasters who wish to migrate in these larger and more secure empires to find protection and start a new life. The only reason these people are on these planets is that they have not yet received the permission to migrate within the territorial space of these empires and therefore are forced to wait, living in makeshift shelters. Like for the Shanty Worlds, the cities of these worlds are mainly informal or spontaneous settlements that often lack proper sanitation, safe water supply, electricity, hygienic streets, or other basic necessities, although in some cases the neighboring empire can give material and logistic assistance to people in need. The diverse populations of these planets are rarely composed entirely of individuals of the same species, forcing many aliens with very different traditions, cultures and languages to live side by side in an unlikely and very difficult coexistence inside gigantic slums. Armed clashes are part of everyday reality on these worlds and the reasons may be the most diverse and absurd. Usually these planets are apolitical or slightly influenced by the neighboring empire, but in some cases they are partially or completely controlled by a criminal organization or an informal government composed of representatives of the population. Cemetery World The Cemetery Worlds are planets where large areas of its surface have been given over to care for the remains of the dead members of one of the many races that inhabit the galaxy. Cemetery Worlds may mark the site of a massive battle, or they may be covered in gigantic mausoleums, each dedicated to a particular high class family. In contrast some rare Cemetery Worlds may be covered in fields of endless, modest burial plots containing the remains of the inhabitants of a nearby City World. Shrine World Shrine Worlds are dominated by the religious caste of one of the many civilizations that inhabit the Omfalos Galaxy and used as a place of worship, completely dedicated to that particular religion. It may be that these places saw the birth of a famous prophet or formed the battleground for a particularly important war in their history. Often studded with cathedrals, temples and shrines spread across the globe, they are used both as training grounds for members of the religious caste and their militant forces as gathering places for the pilgrims. A Shrine World can also be considered to belong to another category of world at the same time, such as an Agri-World or a City World. The most famous Shrine Worlds present in the Omfalos Galaxy are those founded by the Zurara and their Holy Spodist Empire. Penal World A Penal World is a planet that functions as a world-wide prison planet. A single such world's population consists entirely of criminals from hundreds of different worlds. Penal worlds are, very often, barely-habitable planets. Here, the criminals labor and toil at various menial tasks while serving out their sentences. On some worlds, the worst criminals (those whose crimes aren’t severe enough to warrant death) might be segregated from the rest, but this practice varies from world to world. Thus, murderers and rapists might mix with petty thieves and con-men. From this melting pot comes a brutal society, where survival comes only when one forgets morality and is willing to do whatever is necessary to make it to the next day. Military formations are often raised from amongst the prison population as necessary, to serve as troops for Penal military units. There, they might earn redemption through their term of service. Waste Worlds Waste Worlds are planets of the starfaring empires whose surfaces are devoted wholly to the dumping and storage of unusable materials, chemical and biological wastes, and other useless and toxic manufacturing by-products. There is little information on these planets in official records and it is unknown if these planets have any inhabitants or if any recycling efforts are undertaken by their government. Quarantined Worlds The existence of Quarantined Worlds, also called Forbidden Worlds, is rarely made obvious to the citizens of the several alien empires that inhabit the galaxy but there are many of them throughout their territorial space. Travel to these worlds is forbidden except for the most well-informed and heavily armed expeditions, and even then only with a very good reason. Some worlds are quarantined because no one can fathom the origins of what has been found there, be it mysterious artefacts or ancient alien cities (it is thought better to live in ignorance of what lies on such worlds than risk it becoming a threat). Other worlds are quarantined because every expeditionary mission there has failed to return. Many Forbidden Worlds possess great resources that would be extremely valuable to the neighboring empires if they were properly explored and exploited, but there are enough tales of ancient horrors awoken on sinister alien worlds that few explorers would try to defy a planetary quarantine. Lethal World Planets which are too dangerous for a variety of environmental and biosphere reasons to support widespread settlement are called Lethal Worlds. The types of Lethal Worlds are varied, ranging from planets that are covered by world-wide jungles that harbour vicious carnivorous plants and animals to barren rockscapes strewn with volcanoes and wracked by ion storms. These worlds are near-impossible to colonize for any kind of race due to their environmental conditions or the nature of their biospheres. Nonetheless, many of these worlds have large colonies, which are notable for the strength and self-reliance of their people. Many of the people of these worlds are inducted into one of the many armies of the galaxy, a fact which is often the sole reason for the continued habitation of those worlds. Some harbor rich mineral, vegetable, animal or gaseous resources that are of such value to their empire that a small settlement will be maintained despite all the dangers. Dead World Dead Worlds have minimal, even non-existent, life traces or biospheres. A Dead World often possesses a toxic atmosphere or none at all, its surface exposed to the open void. This results from ecological catastrophe, devastating internecine war with weapons of mass destruction, external alien intervention or can be due to no known attributable cause. Dead Worlds often occur naturally, as the unforgiving conditions of the universe mean the majority of planets are uninhabitable. Some, however, have been created in the long history of the galaxy by catastrophic events. Ironically, some planets classified as Dead Worlds have been settled by various species and groups specifically for their barren properties. For example, several military fortresses are located on Dead Worlds because of their harsh conditions, desolation and defensive opportunities. Server World A Server World is one of the worlds across the Omfalos Galaxy where are located the ruins of the underground cities of the ancient and extinct alien race known as the Atrilii. These places of great technological wonders and unspeakable horrors remained untouched and their buildings structurally sound for millennia after the disappearance of the Atrilii, inhabited only the collective of robotic automatons and smart AIs that guard the ruins, the so-called "Remnants". Many Server Worlds are now planets inhabited by other younger alien races and their status as an Atrilii Server World remains unknown until the Remnant automatons beneath its surface begin to awaken, much to the detriment of all life on the world. An unknown number of these planets exist across the Omfalos galaxy in the current era. Some Server Worlds were once the settled worlds of the ancient Atrilii species before their fall at the end of the War in the Skies, and Atrilii ruins are sometimes found on or beneath the surfaces of such worlds. Many Atrilii Server Worlds are now Dead Worlds, largely lifeless and barren deserts. Whether this is a result of the Remnants having cleansed all non-atrilii life from the world thousands of years before during one of their foul campaign of reconquest or whether such climates were the preferred homeworlds of the Atrilii civilization, is unknown. Many of these worlds are often the sites of archeological expeditions carried out by exploratory teams of the junior species looking to uncover ancient alien technologies or pirate expeditions hoping to turn a profit from what they discover. Many of these exploratory teams are never heard from again once they begin to explore Atrilii ruins that inevitably lead them to the Server-megastructures of the dormant Remnant automatons that lie beneath the sands. The Atrilii's underground cities are generally quite large and cavernous, containing repair facilities that are manned by Remnant robo-drones that repair the Remnant vehicles and mechanical bodies that were critically damaged in recent battles. Rad World A Rad World is not an official planetological classification, but is a term in common usage among the galaxy's citizens for those planets whose environments are a single, barren and radioactive wasteland across their entire surfaces. Since the term "Rad World" is not an official classification of High City’s League of Empires but simply a label used to describe the planet's predominant environmental feature, most Rad Worlds are officially classified as Lethal Worlds or Dead Worlds, incapable to be inhabited by the majority of the races of the Omfalos Galaxy. This term is more commonly used to refer to the planets colonized by the Grox. The Grox are famous to turn entire planets into sterile and radioactive places, completely uninhabitable for all the species in the galaxy - save for the Grox, obviously, who are radiation-resistant. In these cases these worlds can be officially classified as Civilized Worlds, City Worlds, Fortress Worlds or Factory Worlds. Ice World An Ice World is not an official planetological classification, but is a term in common usage among the galaxy's citizens for those planets whose environments are frigid and glacier-covered across their entire surfaces. Since the term "Ice World" is not an official classification of High City’s League of Empire but simply a label used to describe the planet's predominant environmental feature, most inhabited Ice Worlds are officially classified as Civilized Worlds, Tribal Worlds or even Lethal Worlds if the environmental conditions are hostile enough to life. Ice Worlds often produce hardy peoples superbly adapted to combat in below-freezing conditions and so become prime recruiting grounds for an army that needs cold-adapted soldiers. Desert World A Desert World is not an official planetological classification, but is a term in common usage among the galaxy's citizens for those planets whose environments are arid and barren across their entire surfaces. Since the term "Desert World" is not an official classification of the High City’s League of Empire but simply a label used to describe the planet's predominant environmental feature, most inhabited Desert Worlds are officially classified as Civilized Worlds, Tribal Worlds or even Lethal Worlds if the environmental conditions are hostile enough to life. Desert Worlds often produce hardy peoples superbly adapted to combat in arid conditions and so become prime recruiting grounds for an army that needs desert-adapted soldiers. Most Desert Worlds occur naturally, but a few once possessed very different climates that were radically altered by events, such as a heavy bombing campaigns. Ocean World An Ocean World is not an official planetological classification, but is a term in common usage among the galaxy's citizens for those planets whose environments are a single, globe-straddling ocean across their entire surfaces, with perhaps only a few small archipelagos of islands serving as the only land masses. Since the term "Ocean World" is not an official classification of the High City’s League of Empire but simply a label used to describe the planet's predominant environmental feature, most inhabited Ocean Worlds are officially classified as Civilized Worlds, Tribal Worlds or even Lethal Worlds if the environmental conditions or extant marine biosphere are hostile enough to life. Ocean Worlds often produce hardy peoples superbly adapted to combat in marine environments and so become prime recruiting grounds for an army that needs soldiers for amphibious or underwater operations. Jungle World A Jungle World is not an official planetological classification, but is a term in common usage among the galaxy's citizens for those planets whose environments are a single, globe-straddling jungle across their entire surfaces. Since the term "Jungle World" is not an official classification of the High City’s League of Empire but simply a label used to describe the planet's predominant environmental feature, most inhabited Desert Worlds are officially classified as Civilized Worlds, Tribal Worlds or even Lethal Worlds if the environmental conditions are hostile enough to life. Jungle Worlds often produce hardy peoples superbly adapted to combat in dense jungles and so become prime recruiting grounds for an army that needs experienced soldiers in jungle warfare. Category:Omfalos Galaxy